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The Long Center for the Performing Arts is named for Teresa Lozano Long and her husband, Joe Long, seen here in 2008 at the Long Center opening. “There was nothing like it in Austin,” Joe Long said about the venue. “And from the beginning, it was about welcoming the community and showcasing the arts.”<\/p>\n
Larry Kolvoord\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Joe Long, who, along with his distinguished wife, Teresa Lozano Long<\/a>, promoted the causes of health science, education and the arts in Texas, died Wednesday at age 96.\u00a0<\/p>\n A lawyer and philanthropist, he was the co-namesake of the Long Center for the Performing Arts<\/a> in Austin, along with his wife, and the Long School of Medicine <\/a>at UT Health San Antonio. The couple’s gift to the Long Center, which Joe Long helped steer through a rocky beginning, was more than $20 million. Their donation to the school of medicine was more than $25 million.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Their total gifts to Texas nonprofits and universities topped $150 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n Through the Long Foundation, the couple established a $10 million permanent fund for scholarships for Hispanic students across the state. They said they loved hearing from youths in \u201cteeny-tiny\u201d towns who would not be able to attend college otherwise.<\/p>\n From the moment they met in Alice in 1958, they appeared to be a matched pair. Although the couple came from little money and rural backgrounds, later profits made in the legal and banking fields eventually allowed them to be generous.<\/p>\n Teresa Long, who was born in Premont, Texas, died in 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Teresa and Joe Long at the Gala del Museo: Arte y Glamour benefiting the Mexic-Arte Museum. The Longs collected museum-quality art, but they broke up the collection when they downsized their living arrangements.<\/p>\n Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n \u201cI know there will be an enormous outpouring of gratitude from various organizations and people in the coming days,\u201d said concert pianist Anton Nel, a close friend of the couple, on Thursday. \u201cThey were so much fun to be with and enjoyed nothing more than to be \u2018normal\u2019 people out of the spotlight. Their generosity enabled hundreds of young people \u2014 including many of my current students \u2014 to have an education. After Terry’s passing in 2021, a group of us continued to take Joe out regularly. An incredible person who will be much missed.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe Long was born Jan. 13, 1930, in San Antonio. He moved to Leon County in East Texas during his childhood, served in the Korean War, and later attended law school at the University of Texas. As a lawyer, he worked with the State Securities Board, the attorney general’s office, and he founded his own law firm. He was part of a group that organized two banks in Austin, First State Bank and Community National Bank, which was later sold to Norwest Corp., now Wells Fargo.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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